Iron Sharpens Iron

Morning Men, time to sharpen our marriages!

EXCERPT:
“An instructor was lecturing on time management. At one point he gave a quiz. He put a wide mouth gallon jar and a platter offist-sized rocks on a table, and asked the participants how many rocks would fit into the jar.
Everyone made a guess, and then the instructor filled the jar with fist sized rocks. Then he asked if it was full. The participants agreed that it was.
He then reached under the table, pulled out a bucket of gravel, and dumped it into the jar. Then he shook the jar. Everyone watched as the gravel filled the spaces around the rocks. Again he asked “Is the jar full?”
This time the participants said, “Probably not.” The instructor picked up a  bucket of sand and filled the jar to the brim. Again he asked the same question, “Is the jar full?”
The participants replied negatively. Then he poured a pitcher of water into the jar and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”
One participant asked if he was trying to demonstrate that they could always squeeze more into their lives. The instructor said, “No, the point is this: If you hadn’t put those big rocks in first, you would never have gotten any of them in.” Lifemates pg.57


REFLECTION:
It’s one thing to have vision and purpose for your marriage but how you prioritize the rocks, the gravel, the sand and water is another thing! If we fail to put the big rocks in first, they will never fit in at the end. Why do we think the Big Bang Creation Theory will work the same way for of our marriages?  A little passion, life experiences, culture , mix it all up and in time walaaaa... a perfect marriage! No, It also takes intelligence, work, strategy and planning to prioritize all the elements of life that go into our marriages.

CHALLENGE:
1. Pick a night each week like a Sunday and sit down with your wife and a calendar.
2. Decide what the top priorities are in your marriage (rocks) and then the gravel and sand and so on. Keep them saved to look at each week.
3. Start placing them on the weekly or monthly calendar starting with rocks working down to the sand.

Here are some examples of priorities from Lifemates...
* A date time
* A daily connection time: Setting aside 20 min to simply connect and chat about life or the day
* A time for sexual intimacy: If it happens more than once a week great but at least there is a special night on the calendar where you can put in a little more effort guys!
* Daily prayer time
* Being Mentored by another couple
* Personal and family commitments: These normally fill a week quickly


PRAYER:
God please help us to be intentional in our marriages, help us not simply be busy but fruitful! Give us the consistency we need and your eyes to know how to prioritize our lives!
Amen.

Good Luck,
Rob